Temporal
by arabmorgan
Summary: It's hard to juggle friendship and romance, and somehow this combination always leads inevitably to heartbreak. But it's time to grow up, because nothing lasts forever. Drabble series.
1. First Impressions

**Temporal **| _First Impressions_

It was Yamanaka Ino's first day in the Academy, and the moment she set eyes on _him_, she fell in love. She fell in love with his dark, dark hair and dark, dark eyes and bad, bad attitude. She thought he was _beautiful_.

Ino pointed the cute, cute boy out and declared, "I'm going to marry him when I grow up!" because that's what all little girls say.

Sakura turned, pink hair flowing, her green eyes bright. Ino loved loved _loved_ Sakura because she was beautiful and kind and she was Ino's very own best friend.

And Sakura blushed and laughed and pointed at another boy. "I'm going to marry _him_!" she whispered. Ino followed her pointing finger and saw a weird boy with a big coat and black glasses.

"But he's _weird_!" she hissed in horror. Sakura couldn't marry such a horrible boy! They were sworn sisters forever, and if Sakura married him Ino would be _related _to him, and that was _way_ gross.

"No, he's mysterious and cool and charming," Sakura corrected dreamily. "I wish I could see his face!"

Ino screwed up her nose in disgust and tried to think of a way to make her best friend fall in love with some other boy, _any_ other boy. Like the one with the pointy red triangles on his face, or that cute sleepy one with hair that stuck up.

But her dark-haired, dark-eyed boy—yes, he was _hers_ now—walked by, and she lost her train of thought and couldn't help but grin crazily at him. Even though he didn't look at her, her huge blue eyes followed his slouched figure faithfully across the room.


	2. First Meeting

**Temporal **| _First Meeting_

Ino knew his name now: Uchiha Sasuke.

That first day, Iruka sensei, who was really nice and cool, but he had this huge scar across his nose which was _scary_, called, "Uchiha Sasuke." And _he_ raised his hand, his face impassive and expressionless.

Ino was so excited because now she knew that her name was going to be Uchiha Ino! And that sounded _so_ pretty and she was happy, so she turned and hugged Sakura tightly.

The next day, she bounced up to him and said happily, "Hi, I'm Yamanaka Ino! Do you want to be friends?" She smiled as sweetly as she could, brushing her fringe back from her face to show him her blue eyes—_you have the prettiest eyes, darling, _her mother had told her.

Blue eyes met black, and her smile widened. But he only fixed her with a cold glare, looked her up and down with a small wrinkle of his nose, and brushed her off with a haughty "hn".

The little blonde girl wilted, crushed at how _mean_ he was. He was supposed to give her a ring and _marry _her! She sniffled sadly and blinked back tears—_ninjas don't cry_, her father had instilled that deep in her_—_ and wished Uchiha Sasuke liked her just a teeny little bit more.


	3. Introduction

**Temporal **| _Introduction_

Sasuke turned to watch the girl pad away dejectedly, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion. Something nagged at the back of this mind, telling him he really wasn't supposed to be treating girls this way. _Oh_, it was his mother, who'd said-

He pushed the thought away before he lost his temper. Anger masked grief well, he'd found.

The next morning, he sauntered into the classroom as usual, eyes fixed on his desk, pointedly ignoring everyone around him. A flash of yellow in the corner of his eye made him turn, and he saw that blonde girl sitting with her friend—_honestly,_ pink hair?

Before he knew what he was doing, he stopped at her table. He was sorry for making her sad but he would never, _ever_ tell anyone or everyone would laugh at him. The girl looked up, blinking long hair out of her eyes, and smiled.

"Hi Sasuke, I'm Ino!" she chirped, although perhaps a little less enthusiastically than the day before. She looked a little wary, but somehow still happy and open and eager.

Sasuke stared at her. He hesitated, wondering what to say that would make her happy without destroying his Uchiha pride.

He grunted, "I'm Uchiha Sasuke." Then he walked away, hoping she wasn't sad anymore. He resisted the desire to break into a brisk walk, concentrating on maintaining his practiced careless stroll.


	4. Surprise

**Temporal **| _Surprise_

Watching Sasuke walk away calmly, Ino was left wide-eyed and swooning with awe and wonderment and happiness that he had _talked to her_!

During break, Ino left Sakura and went hunting for the love of her life. She found him sitting all alone under a tree looking sad and angry as he always was, and Ino felt sorry for him because being happy was the _best _feeling in the world. Plus Sasuke would look even _more_ handsome if he smiled and Ino wanted to see that smile!

"Sasuke-kun!" she squealed, and threw herself on his back, arms squeezing his neck.

But he whirled around, disgusted, and shoved her off, black eyes flashing with _rage_ and Ino shrank back because he looked so _scary_. She let go of his neck, fell on her butt on the grass, and tried to blink back tears—_I'm a big girl and big girls don't cry!_—as she watched him get to his feet and stalk away.

"He's mean, Ino! Don't love him anymore!" Sakura hugged her when they were back in class, enveloping Ino in a hug and crying for her best friend.

"It's okay, I'll make him fall in love with me, I _will_," Ino insisted, smiling through her tears, because she might be determined but she was still just a hurt little girl.


	5. Resigned

**Temporal **| _Resigned_

Sasuke could almost predict that silly girl's routine now: searching for him (ever-elusive as always), taking him by surprise with a flying leap and a shrill "_Sasuke-kun_!" and watching him walk away without a care for her broken heart.

_Broken heart indeed_. Sasuke rolled at his eyes at girls and their hopeless lovesickness in general.

But even grouchy boys get tired, and Sasuke was growing tired of this _annoying_ girl who kept leaping out of nowhere to ambush him. Not to mention he did feel just a _little _guilty when he saw her downcast face. More importantly, having to move out of his favourite brooding spot because of a _girl _was just plain ridiculous.

He wasn't _scared _of her!

When she did that hug-from-behind one day, he just grunted, glared at her with black eyesthat _threatened death_, wrenched her arms out of her stranglehold around his neck, and then turned back to watching the scenery.

_Go away go away go away_, he thought determinedly, trying to transmit those two words telepathically.

But no, the girl—_Ino_, a teeny voice reminded him slyly—just had to sit down beside him, scooting ever closer every few seconds, throwing sideway glances at him when she thought he wasn't looking. Not that he was looking at her, he just somehow _happened _to catch her sneaking peeks at him.

Sasuke snorted and laid his chin on his knees, pointedly ignoring her.


	6. Visit

**Temporal** | _Visit_

Ino couldn't believe how lucky lucky _lucky _she was. She scooted over and snuggled on Sasuke's shoulder with a contented sigh, her huge blue eyes on his face admiringly and lovingly and just a _little_ warily. His nose wrinkled and his lip curled and he _glared_ at her again, but he didn't—couldn't be bothered to, since she would be back again and again and _again—_shrug her off.

They never interacted much, except during break, but Ino didn't really mind. She was content just looking and ogling and gaping, while Sasuke diligently took notes and practiced handsigns and worked on his taijutsu.

But he had _come to her house_ once, when her father came to pick her up and saw her chattering away to the moody boy and invited him back for lunch, because of course, while _she _knew nothing about Sasuke's past, Inoichi knew all too much about the Uchihas and what parent wouldn't feel sorry for the boy?

She had shown him her room, which was pretty and purple with lots of fluffy toys, and the left side of his mouth had _quirked _a little in the semblance of a smile. She had grabbed his hand and laughed for no reason and didn't even cry when he wriggled his hand out of her grip.

Then she showed him how she could _just kinda barely_ see the tip of one of the buildings in the Uchiha compound from her bedroom window—but he _growled_ and turned away and she bit her lip and wondered how to make him smile again.

Before he left, she gave him a chrysanthemum flower from her family's flower shop, whispered, "It means _joy_," and smiled cheerfully at his retreating back.


	7. Change

**Temporal** | _Change_

Ino love love _loved_ her blonde hair. When she grew up she was going to keep it really _really _long like her daddy. Right now he thought she was too little to take care of long hair properly, which wasn't true but she didn't have a choice since her father was _in charge_.

She didn't like taijutsu and weapons because they made her sweaty and dirty and smelly and just _gross_ in general. Her daddy was going to teach her some cool Yamanaka jutsus _anyway_ so she could fight with them _without_ getting dirty!

Until one day, Sasuke said something while Ino sat next to him and munched on a sandwich. "You should train harder and be _strong _so you can do whatever you want. Like get revenge." He'd mumbled the last bit, not meeting her eyes.

Then he had turned and _looked at her_ in that _intense_ way he had and her breath caught because he might be thinking _she's so weak_ and she decided that from that day on, she was going to train as hard as she could to impress Sasuke! Because he was her friend and she was in love with him but _he_ wasn't in love with _her _yet. It was only a matter of time though.

She worked hard, she trained endlessly, like she always saw Sasuke do. She would just have to bathe more and put more of her really _nice _soap that smelled like flowers.

And she simply didn't know what to do when she graduated top of the class with _Sasuke_, who nodded at her and congratulated her and she was _speechless_ with happiness and pride.


	8. Doubt

**Temporal **| _Doubt_

Fate was laughing at her, Ino just _knew it_.

Sasuke—_her_ Sasuke—had been placed on Sakura's team. Her best friend and her _kinda maybe best guy friend slash crush_ together on the same team, and they hadn't even spoken more than ten words to each other before!

"Sooo, what do you think of Sasuke?" Ino asked brightly, after that first day of training. She was sprawled on Sakura's bed while the other girl brushed her hair at her dresser.

Ino bit her lip, wishing for the first time that she wasn't so _normal_. Sakura had gorgeous, gorgeous unusual pink hair and such sparkly green eyes, and if she were a boy, Ino would _totally_ fall in love with her. But Ino had regular blonde hair, which even _Naruto _had, and blue eyes without pupils, which were _weird_ and there was no way Sasuke would fall in love with her if he had Sakura on his team.

And Sakura was no longer in love with that mysterious boy anymore because he had _bugs_ in him, and that was _gross._ And what if she fell in love with Sasuke, or if _he fell in love with her_! And Ino was _terrified_. She trusted her best friend because they didn't have any secrets from each other _at all_, but still, _anything_ could happen.

"He's…weird," Sakura muttered disparagingly. "Doesn't talk much, does he? He's kind of cute though…I see what you see in him now!" She winked at Ino and laughed.

Ino smiled tentatively and wondered if Sasuke thought Sakura was cute too.


	9. Interrogation

**Temporal** | _Interrogation_

Sasuke really couldn't fathom _why_ he had even allowed Ino to set foot in his house.

Maybe it was because she'd waited outside for three hours because he'd lost track of time while training. Or maybe he hadn't actually _invited _her in; she'd just pushed past him happily, flicking her hair in his face at the same time. Or maybe he'd just never been able to say no to her.

It _had _been a nice experience to see someone waiting for him at the doorstep for once, though. She'd looked so _happy_ to see him.

But now she was poking around and cooing and exclaiming over _everything_, and it was getting annoying. Rolling his eyes and sighing, Sasuke ambled to the kitchen to get some drinks, leaving his crazy friend to amuse herself in the living room.

"So, why are you here?" Blunt, straight to the point, as he always was.

Ino, lounging on the couch and sipping at her hot chocolate, looking _much _too at home, giggled. "I haven't seen you in _ages _and you haven't told me about your team and I haven't told you about mine, then I realized I've never been to your house, so we can have a gossip session tonight!"

"I'm not a _girl_," he sneered. "Go and find Sakura for that."

"But I have! We talked all about _you _yesterday," Ino chirped teasingly. Her blue eyes were very bright, Sasuke realized uneasily, piercing into him, looking for some sort of _answer_. He met her stare evenly, noting her hesitation.

"So, Sasuke-kun," she started, smiling at him rather dangerously, "speaking of Sakura, what do you think of her?"


	10. Laughter

**Temporal** | _Laughter_

Ino liked laughing. It made her feel _alive_ and it meant she didn't have to think about things that made her _sad_ _confused angry_.

Like how it was so _hard _to choose between friendship and love _but did she really love him_? Was what she felt for Sasuke _really _love? She really didn't know now and it made her head hurt thinking about it too much.

She'd convinced herself she loved Sasuke, ever since that first day at the Academy, but now she was older and wiser and more _cynical _maybe. Maybe she had always only been his best friend, and _nothing more_.

Anyway, _the best friend never gets the boy_, everyone knew that.

Ino felt like a cliché, like she was _living _a cliché. She was best friends with a guy she (_thought she_) liked, and she was best friends with another girl since _forever _and she was stuck in the middle of these two best friends who _secretly liked each other but wouldn't tell_ but she knew anyway because best friends aren't _best _friends for nothing.

If she could just figure out whether she loved Sasuke she wouldn't having this problem but it hurt to think about it.

So Ino tipped her head back and laughed with Sakura about how _funny _their preliminary match had been. Honestly, how could _both of them_ have punched each other at the same time and fainted at the same time and woken up at the same time?

She laughed so hard her stomach hurt and tears slipped out from behind her closed eyes.


	11. Comparison

**Temporal **| _Comparison_

Kakashi was late _again_. As usual.

Sasuke glared moodily at blank space. He needed more training _now_ and he needed to _concentrate _on his revenge properly, because there was _no way_ he was going to defeat Itachi with some _lame-ass _Chidori. Although he was proud of his Chidori, he really was, but Itachi was still well out of his league and he needed to _kill his brother now_.

He wished Naruto would shut up for once, and that Sakura would _stop staring at him_. He wasn't _blind_ and he had peripheral vision and he _knew _she was watching him. She was incredibly annoying, kind of like Ino, but then again they had probably rubbed off on each other.

How many times had he saved her? This slip of a girl with _ridiculous _hair—you could probably see it from _miles _away, it was so bright—and overactive tear ducts, the second girl he'd ever talked to properly besides Ino.

They were so alike, too—they loved to talk, loved to tease him, were always _concerned _about him. Except Ino wasn't on his team; and he had never undergone a spring cleaning expedition with Sakura (that was the day he _cursed _the size of his house); but Ino hadn't shorn off half her hair fighting to save him; and Sakura hadn't set foot in his house before.

Sasuke scowled blankly. _Revenge revenge revenge_, he snarled to himself. When had he started _obsessing _over girls? Disgusting. He ran a hand through his dark hair and turned to look at Naruto, still babbling away.

"Shut up, dobe."


	12. Plan

**Temporal **| _Plan_

Ino grinned, tugging on Sasuke's hand. "Hurry _up_! I bet Sakura's already waiting!"

She pushed through the crowd forcefully, her grip on his wrist never slackening. She could _feel _his death glare fixed on her back, but he followed her docilely and she resisted the urge to snigger.

"I'm not following both of you _shopping_ or something. And I don't gossip," Sasuke said prudishly, trying to reassert some authority as he was being dragged along towards a nice barbeque restaurant.

"It's just _lunch_, Sasuke-kun," Ino said patiently, turning to face him with a beatific smile on her face. "Is it so wrong for me to want to spend time with both of my best friends?" She fluttered her eyelashes, smiling winningly, and pushed him into the restaurant before he could utter another word of protest.

_I win, as always_, Ino thought smugly, smirking to herself.

The lunch date was uneventful, to say the least. Sakura and Ino talked and talked and _talked_, occasionally directing remarks at Sasuke, who would grunt or "hn" or mutter some monosyllabic answer.

Finally, Ino leaped to her feet. "Right, I have to meet my team for training, so you two _stay_ and have dessert, okay? My treat!" She slapped the bills onto the table, flashed a smile at her two bewildered friends, and dashed off.

That was what best friends did, sacrificed their own happiness for those closest to them, wasn't it? Just seeing both them happy was enough, _right_?

Ino headed home and didn't look back.


	13. Leaving

**Temporal **| _Leaving_

Ino wished that idiot knocking at her window would _stop_ and _let a girl have her beauty sleep thanks_! She groaned in annoyance and stuffed her head under the pillow.

The knocking increased in speed, _tap-tap-tap_ urgently.

"_What_?" She sat up, glaring furiously at her window.

Sasuke stared back at her, his mouth twisted in an annoyed frown. Ino gaped for a moment before rushing over to open her window.

"I thought you were never going to wake up," he snapped irritably.

Ino only tilted her head and stared at him closely. "What is it?" she whispered, moving back to sit on her bed.

Sasuke looked _different_, somehow. Tense, guilty, more serious, if that were even possible.

He hesitated, then muttered, "I'm leaving. I just came to tell you because you're…"

Black eyes met blue.

"Your best friend?" Ino smiled sadly. "Where are you going?"

"Orochimaru. I_ need_ power to get my revenge."

"_What? No!_" She was on her feet, grabbing his hand, trying not to cry.

"I'm coming back after I kill Itachi," Sasuke muttered, pulling her close and _hugging her_ and she hugged him back and wanted to hold him forever.

"Don't go," Ino whispered. "You're my best friend."

"I'm coming back," he repeated, releasing her and retreating to the window.

"Wait, Sasuke-kun!"

He turned, his eyes gleaming in the dark.

"_I love you_." And it slipped out of her mouth, but she wasn't taking it back because she was _brave_. "I'll wait for you, however long it takes."

There was a sharp intake of breath, and he was silent for a moment. "Take care of Sakura for me."

Then he was gone.

Ino crawled under her covers and let her tears fall.


	14. Power

**Temporal **| _Power_

"Ahhh, Sasuke-kun. It's so good to see you."

Sasuke glared at the shadowy figure seated before him, resisting the urge to shudder. That voice, silky smooth yet cloying and sinister, unnerved him, and nothing much unnerved Uchiha Sasuke.

_Snake-like_, the thought occurred to him suddenly. The voice—even the man himself—was snake-like, syllables slightly drawn out and the tone dryly amused. Then again, it wasn't surprising, given Orochimaru's widely known association with snakes.

"I do hope you had a smooth journey here," Orochimaru said, sounding like he was permanently sneering.

Sasuke's lip curled derisively. "I was strong enough to make it here alone," he said shortly.

Beside Orochimaru, Kabuto—_the snake's little lapdog_—shifted slightly, as if intending to rebuke Sasuke for his rudeness, but thinking better of it.

Sasuke smirked.

Orochimaru laughed snidely and leaned forward, the dim lights illuminating his chalky face. "You'll have to tell me how dear old Konoha is doing; I miss it _so_ much. What about you, Sasuke-kun? Missing your little friends?"

Sasuke stiffened, although his gaze never wavered.

Images flashed in his mind: Ino, lying on her bed, laughing at something, anything; Sakura, biting her lip, green eyes very wide, her nose an inch from his; Naruto, yelling a challenge one moment, a grin on his face the next; Kakashi, a book in his hands, his visible eye crinkling as he gave one of his rare smiles.

Orochimaru's eyes flashed maliciously in the lengthening silence. Kabuto remained motionless, alert, his glasses reflecting the light.

Sasuke composed his face into a blank mask, tilting his head as he met Orochimaru's eyes.

"Konoha is my past. It matters little to me now. This life, this _power_, this is my present and my future."


	15. Beautiful

**Temporal **| _Beautiful_

"Hello, beautiful."

Ino looked up, already blushing, already smiling, as she met the dark eyes of the pale boy before her.

Sakura looked _livid_, ready to punch the vacantly smiling boy into oblivion. "How _dare_ you call Ino beautiful and me ugly! _Sai_!"

"Sai?" Ino repeated, her smile fading slightly. "I'm Ino, nice to meet you."

_Have you seen Uchiha's replacement, Sai? They look so alike, the resemblance is uncanny!_

_Sai looks almost exactly like Sasuke! Except weirder…_

She shook his hand blankly, her mind already elsewhere, all those _could-haves_ and _might-have-beens_ and _what-ifs_. It was with difficulty that she focused on the stranger before her.

Staring at him, Ino's thoughts were infused with a tinge of disbelief and annoyance, because _really_, this black-haired, black-eyed, emotionless boy had _nothing_ in common with her Sasuke-kun.

She just had to look at his false, insincere smile, his too-blank eyes, and all resemblance faded away. Sasuke wasn't one to smile, but when he did, he _meant_ it; and as much as he disliked it, Sasuke's eyes had always reflected his exact emotions.

Ino caught Sakura's worried glance at her and forced a bright smile at Sai. "So, _handsome_, it's almost lunchtime," she cooed, fluttering her eyelashes exaggeratedly, "want to catch a bite to eat?"

Sai cast a slightly confused glance at Ino before addressing Sakura. "We should go and eat. Beautiful is going crazy from hunger."

Ino shot a bemused smile at Sakura—_what's up with this guy?_ Sakura looked exasperated, and Ino held back her laughter as she grabbed Sai's hand and linked arms with Sakura, dragging them away in search of food.

He wasn't _that _weird, and he had made her laugh. Maybe Sai wasn't so bad after all.


	16. Mission

**Temporal **| _Mission_

"Your mission," the Hokage said gravely, meeting all of their gazes in turn, "is to kill Uchiha Sasuke."

"What?" Ino clapped her hand over her mouth as soon as she spoke. Beside her, Kiba looked equally stunned. Neji face turned even grimmer than it already was. Shikamaru, sitting uncharacteristically upright, was the only one who looked unsurprised.

Tsunade's lips thinned and she exhaled heavily. "Believe me, I don't want to do this either, but Uchiha Sasuke is now a danger to Konoha, and he _must _be eliminated."

"I can't do this," Ino protested weakly. "What about Sakura and Naruto? They're _his_ teammates."

The Hokage looked at her with something akin to pity. "You know that they are ruled by emotions when it comes to Sasuke. Trust me, I have put this team together after much thought: a medic and genjutsu specialist, a tactician, an offensive fighter and a Byakugan-user. You will leave tomorrow."

Ino sat back, her hand finding Shikamaru's and clutching it compulsively for comfort. The Hokage's tone had made it clear that there was no room for argument, but why did it have to be _her_? She knew the logic, but she didn't like it.

He'd turned traitor and even killed his brother, but she _knew _that deep down, he was still the Sasuke she had known and loved—the patient one who put up with all her rambling, the silly one who didn't know how to confess to the one he loved, the determined one who valued his pride so highly.

She'd never be able to hurt him. The only thing left to do, then, was to convince him it was time for him to come home, to _her_.


	17. Letting Go

**Temporal **| _Letting Go_

Ino shrieked in pain and anger as Shikamaru's body crashed straight into her. She whipped her kunai back to avoid stabbing him, the breath wheezing out of her at the impact against the rocky ground.

"Shikamaru!" She scrambled out from under him, hands already glowing with healing chakra as she surveyed the damage. Her face paled as she took in the blood spilling out of the foot-long gash across his midriff, and she feverishly started the healing, ignoring the chaos going on around her.

"Ino…" Shikamaru tried to speak, his eyes widening, focused on something behind her. Taking the hint, she whirled, lifting her kunai to block the descending sword. It sliced straight through the steel, stopping short of shearing her leg off.

"Sasuke-kun…why?" Ino hated how pathetic she sounded, like she was giving up. She wanted to _rage_, but just the sight of his familiar dark hair and the angular planes of his face killed that urge.

"Ino." Sasuke towered over her kneeling form, tilting his head as he looked down at her coldly, _cruelly_. "My goal is to destroy Konoha and everyone in it. This is just the beginning." He raised his sword brought it down towards Shikamaru in a single smooth sweep.

Ino narrowed her eyes, suddenly furious. This wasn't the Sasuke she had known; this was a stranger in _her _Sasuke-kun's body, and she _wanted him back_.

With a snarl, she leapt forwards, slamming bodily into Sasuke, slashing with her kunai in a frenzy. She just wanted to go back to when she was secretly in love with him. She wanted to keep valuing her happiness over his. She wanted to stop him that night he left.

But she let that all go, and at that very moment, she just wanted to kill him.


	18. Hurt

**Temporal **| _Hurt_

Ino had never been so scared in her life. It hurt _so bad_ and she was too young to die. She wanted to see her dad, and Shikamaru—_was he okay?_—and Choji. She was numb but it still _hurt _and she had _so much _she wanted to do and say, especially to the stupid, stupid boy holding her.

She thought she might still love him, even though it had taken a chidori through her body, right below her heart, for him to gain that stricken, regretful look on his face.

Maybe it had been the silly disbelieving look on her face—she hadn't _really _believed Sasuke would actually _hurt _her, despite all evidence to the contrary. Maybe it had been the _surprised horrified betrayed _"Sasuke-kun…" that slipped from her, a broken whisper. Or maybe his conscience and memories had simply chosen that opportune moment to return to him.

Whatever it was, he was cradling her in his lap now, just staring at her face, both of them silent. Around them, Neji and Kiba still battled Sasuke's new team, but they were oblivious.

Ino kept her eyes fixed on Sasuke's dark orbs, waiting for him to speak, just staring and staring and drinking in his features before she faded altogether. She wanted him to speak first, wanted to hear his _real _voice again even if it was the last thing she did.

And she _did _outlast him. "Ino." His voice was low, but she caught the single word, infused with remorse and affection and the remnants of a childhood friendship. It was the closest to an apology she would get.

She smiled weakly through the pain. "Come back to Konoha, _please_," she murmured hoarsely, trying not to cough because she knew there would be blood and she didn't want to see it.

Sasuke just looked at her, and she knew he was asking, _Why?_

"Because I love you, silly."


	19. Anew

**Temporal **| _Anew_

"_Because I love you, silly_."

Sasuke opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. Not for the first time, he wondered why they'd sent Ino—beautiful, vain, genjutsu-using Ino. She hadn't stood a chance against him.

It hurt him, to see the fear in her eyes, her blood staining his clothes red, the knowledge that _he _had done this to her, without a second thought. He swept her fringe from her face with the back of his hand, wanting to offer comfort, an apology, a promise, but he didn't know how.

Destroying Konoha had never seemed so hard. He'd never realized, never really thought it through, that Konoha had been—still _was_—his home, where his friends and his memories were. _Naruto. Sakura._

_Sakura._

The thought of her was always there, between them. Meeting Ino's eyes, he saw that she knew who he was thinking of. He swallowed convulsively, opened his mouth again.

"Ino, I…I love you too. You know that."

The line between platonic love and romantic love was so very fine.

Ino smiled a little sadly, her body quivering. "I keep waiting, because I know it'll be worth it," she whispered. She shifted slightly, burying her face in his chest as she shuddered uncontrollably.

When she became still, Sasuke laid her down gently on the dusty ground, her pale hair fanning out around her like a halo. His eyes hard with resolve, he stood, watching the still-ongoing fight. Drawing his sword, he dashed forward to put an end to the battle, his Sharingan swirling.

Life was fleeting, not to be spent on trivial issues, Sasuke was realising. If only he knew what was most important to him. If only his heart and his mind were one.

_I love you. I'll wait for you, however long it takes_.


End file.
